ZiLi leaned against the bedhead, his head drooping, while Hong Xu sat by the table, staring at him. Lin De entered carrying a tea tray, quietly placed the teacups on the table, and then slipped out again.
“Stop staring at me, you are going to burn two holes in my head!” ZiLi pitifully said, lifting his bandaged hand that had been injured by a shard of porcelain when he protected his head.
“Do you know what you did wrong?” Hong Xu asked angrily, his tone harsh.
“Yes, I know what I did wrong!”
“So, what did you do wrong?”
“I shouldn’t have thrown cold water on that guy, I should have thrown boiling water instead!”
“You will reflect on your actions here today, and you are not allowed to eat without my permission!”
“Ah, don’t go, I know what I did wrong!”
“Then what did you do wrong!”
“I, I shouldn’t have attacked blindly without knowing the enemy’s background!”
“Face the wall.”
“Hong Xu!”
“If you cannot say what you did wrong today, you can forget about leaving this palace!”
“You are placing me under house arrest! Ah, don’t go!” ZiLi anxiously lurched forward, nearly falling off the bed. Hong Xu turned back, his heart skipping a beat, and in an instant stepped forward to catch and steady the troublemaker.
Please read His Majesty's Hostage Chapter 101 on Project Bezemwagen :-)
“Hong Xu, I really know what I did wrong, please don’t be angry, okay?” ZiLi looked at him with two big teary and pitiful eyes that would soften anyone’s heart. And sure enough, Hong Xu sighed helplessly.“Next time you leave the palace, will you dare go without Imperial bodyguards?”
“I won’t dare!”
“I gave you the ‘As If The Emperor Were Present’ command token. Why did you not use it? With it, even if you ordered them to bark like dogs, no one would dare disobey.”
“Uh, I forgot in the moment!”
“Uh! Don’t be angry, it won’t happen again next time!” Cradling Hong Xu’s handsome face, ZiLi gave the other a quick kiss, then blinked his black, onyx-like eyes at Hong Xu. And as expected, Hong Xu was completely won over.
“Here!” Hong Xu turned his left cheek.
“Muah!”
“Here too!” Hong Xu pointed to his mouth.
“Mwah!” With such a delicious treat willfully offered right to him, how could Hong Xu not eat? He immediately pressed his lips to ZiLi’s, his tongue plunging in fiercely, swirling and stirring like a raging river, kissing ZiLi until the other’s tongue went numb before finally letting go.
“I have already ordered the cancellation of future selection ceremonies during my reign!” Hong Xu licked the corner of ZiLi’s mouth and looked at the other’s watery eyes, saying, “I really wish I could swallow you whole so I would not have to worry about you overthinking everything! Baby, you must stop eating vinegar over past affairs, understand?”
ZiLi obediently nodded.
“And you can absolutely not think about taking a wife or having children, got it?”
ZiLi nodded again.
“So now do you realize what I am considering you as?”
“As a lover!”
“So not a male concubine anymore?”
“No, I believe you!”
“So, in the future, when you hear others gossiping, you will not lose your temper anymore?”
“Not losing my temper? As if!”
“Hmm?”
“I’ll beat up the person who talks nonsense!”
“Hnn! Baby, does your stomach still hurt?”
“Eh, it hurts?”
“How about ordering General WanQi’s bastard of a son to have his father keep him under house arrest for another three months?”
“That won’t do, that’s too lenient. I at least need to punch him four times and then let him be confined for a year! And his pig and dog friends too!”
“All right, whatever you want!”
“Oh, right. What about CunGong and CunShou? Uh, those two kids! They came all the way to the Capital for you to readdress an injustice and to clear their father’s name!”
“I already know about this and have sent people to handle it! Baby, you do not have to worry!”
“What about the two of them? I want to see them!”
“I have already arranged for them to stay at the relay station. Baby, wait until your injury is healed before you go to see them!” Hong Xu said in a gentle tone, yet there was no room for argument.
ZiLi had no choice but to give up!
As they were talking, Lin De suddenly entered and bowed with an uneasy expression, “Your Majesty, General WanQi requests an audience?”
“The General? If he is here to plead for his son, then forget it!” Hong Xu said displeased.
“Your Majesty, General WanQi is not here to plead for leniency. He, he brought a coffin and is sitting outside the palace gates with his entire family!”
“How presumptuous! What kind of place does he think the Imperial palace is? Bringing a coffin inside, it is utterly defiant of the law and lacking any sense of morality! Are the Imperial bodyguards all dead?” Hong Xu shouted, as he slammed the table.
“Your Majesty, please quell your anger!”
Hong Xu gave ZiLi a look that said, ‘rest for a while’, then turned back with a dark face, “Lead Us there, We want to see what kind of performance this front-line Great General is putting on!”
A red lacquered pine coffin, a group of family members in mourning clothes, and a circle of Imperial bodyguards with hands resting on their sword hilts, surrounded WanQi PengWei, who was sitting cross-legged atop the coffin with bloodshot eyes. This imposing, strong and determined man, who had spent most of his life fighting on the battlefield, now appeared haggard and utterly desolate.
Please read His Majesty's Hostage Chapter 101 on Project Bezemwagen :-)
“His Majesty has arrived――” Lin De announced loudly.Upon hearing this, everyone immediately knelt and shouted long live the Emperor three times!
Hong Xu ascended the steps and first swept his gaze over everyone present. Then his eyes landed on WanQi PengWei, and with an expressionless face he asked, “General WanQi, what is the meaning of this?”
WanQi PengWei, his face also taut, spoke in a firm tone, “Your Majesty, today this subject brought his son here, pleading for justice for our WanQi family! I, WanQi PengWei, have fought on the battlefield for decades, repelling countless enemies. Even if I have no merits, I have put in the effort, and I have always been utterly loyal and devoted to Your Majesty’s Hong family’s dynasty. But who would have thought that my wholehearted loyalty would end with a father mourning his son! Although my son was not promising, he still was my only son. Now that he has died an unnatural death, I, as his father, must demand justice for him! Yesterday, the Third Prince of Bei Ling, An JinYu, threatened to twist my son’s neck and cut his mouth. Today, my son has been cruelly killed and hung stripped naked at the city gate. A life for a life. Your Majesty, you are wise and farsighted, impartial between public duty and private grief. This humble subject begs Your Majesty to execute the Third Prince of Bei Ling on the spot!”
Upon hearing this, Lin De’s heart skipped a beat. Anyone could see how much the Emperor cherished the Prince of Bei Ling these days. Executing him on the spot? That was like asking the Emperor to cut out a piece of his heart! Lin De expected the Emperor to fly into a rage, but unexpectedly after waiting for a while, he saw no reaction. He quietly glanced at Hong Xu and found that the other was still showing no expression. Could it be that the Emperor would really punish the Prince of Bei Ling?
“General, your achievements on the battlefield are illustrious, and you have rendered countless meritorious deeds. We hold the General in the highest regard. Now that the heir of the WanQi family has died an unnatural death, the grief of losing a child is truly heartrending. We will grant him a grand burial and bestow upon him the title of Dian Ying
淀英
Diàn Yīng
The Outstanding Hero
1 ,” Hong Xu said indifferently, avoiding the main issue. “As for the perpetrator, we cannot rashly determine who it is based on just a few words. If we miss the real culprit, it would be unfair to the deceased. We will hand this case over to the Ministry of Justice for a thorough investigation to find the true killer and give General WanQi an explanation. The matter of your esteemed son’s funeral is urgent. General, you should quickly return home and let your esteemed son be properly laid to rest!”
Diàn Yīng
The Outstanding Hero
Hong Xu’s attitude had already become perfectly clear. It was impossible for ZiLi to be executed on the spot. Whether he was the murderer still had to be investigated, and since the case had already been handed over to the Ministry of Justice, no one could claim he was deliberately showing favoritism. With just a few sentences, he cut off any chance WanQi PengWei had to continue pressing the matter. Even though WanQi PengWei was convinced that ZiLi was the killer, and had already gathered the victim’s relatives and supporters to stage a sit-in with the vow, ‘We will not rest until the murderer is brought to justice’, Hong Xu’s casual words still managed to suppress WanQi PengWei’s momentum completely! Simply carrying a coffin into the palace was already a grave act of disrespect. WanQi Pengwei’s grief over losing his son might be taken into consideration and overlooked. But if, after the Emperor had promised to preside over the matter and deliver justice, the other still refused to back down, then what had begun as a petition for redress would turn into contempt for Imperial authority and inciting a public disturbance!
Please read His Majesty's Hostage Chapter 101 on Project Bezemwagen :-)
After dismissing WanQi PengWei, Hong Xu turned back and, sure enough, saw ZiLi crouching behind the door, secretly eavesdropping.“Baby, why did you come out?”
“I didn’t kill anyone!” ZiLi said, looking at Hong Xu uneasily.
“Of course, I know that!” Hong Xu said, fondly stroking ZiLi’s cheek.
ZiLi frowned, “This is a setup! Could it be another trick by that An JinLuo? Remember the first assassination attempt? He could not kill me, so he tried to get someone else to do his dirty work! Does he not get tired of using the same trick twice?”
“But the same method has different effects when used on different people! Baby, this time it is rather tricky, because the man holding the knife is WanQi PengWei, and once he gets something stuck in his head, not even several horses could pull him to stop. He is convinced that you are the murderer. Even if the Ministry of Justice produces more evidence proving someone else is the killer, he will still think I deliberately cleared you of the crime, especially given the relationship between us!”
“Then, what should we do?”
Hong Xu chuckled softly, pulling ZiLi into his arms, saying, “You do not need to worry about this, baby. Leave everything to me!”
Seeing ZiLi looking like a startled little deer, Hong Xu’s heart skipped a beat. It had been several days since he had tasted his baby’s sweetness. No matter what, today he would have to make up for it double. With that thought, he immediately scooped ZiLi up and, amid the other’s startled cry, leapt back to the bedchamber. The door slammed shut with a bang, and before long, waves of soft moans and pleading sounds that made one’s ears redden and heart race drifted out from inside……
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